Strengthening the Rule of Law through Education

The Youth I.D.E.A.S. announced its latest report on
“Strengthening the Rule of Law through Education”

The Youth I.D.E.A.S. (established by HKFYG Youth Research Centre) has released its study on “Strengthening the Rule of Law through Education”.

529 young people (aged 15-34) polled in a survey gave an average 7.87 points on a scale of 0-10 (10 = very important; 5=medium) when asked to rate the importance of rule of law as a core value of Hong Kong. Seventy percent（70.1%）said that their confidence in the city’s rule of law was reduced after the recent spate of social incidents. 

Respondents rated it at an average of 4.20 points only regarding the performance of the HKSAR government in promoting the rule of law education (10 = very good; 5=passmark).

More than half（51.2%）said that their concept on rule of law was most influenced by peers. Close to half（49.4%）showed interests in enriching knowledge about law. A similar percentage（50.7%）thought otherwise.

Some young people in the parallel individual case interviews of this study said that the government’s insufficient explanation on the laws, which were recently enforced, had made them worried about the uncertainty of the laws. An academic interviewed said that one of the fundamental values for the existence of law was that it protected the common good and interests of the members of a society. For the public governance area, policy formulation and enactment must have a legal basis. Nevertheless, the area about the role and duty of individuals was usually ignored in the public education.

The study recommended enhancing the society’s understanding towards the values behind the law, as well as the history of the city; improving legislation explanation work; exploring more training opportunities for young people to facilitate their participation in the promotion of the rule of law of the city.